Loading summary
Transcript138 lines
- [00:00]
Andrew Morrison
Voiceover Coffee shop. Episode number 80. Welcome to the Voiceover Coffee Shop, where we give you a glimpse into the world of the biggest voice actors in the industry over a delicious cup of coffee. And now, here's your host, voice actor Andrew Morrison. Hi there. My name is Andrew Morrison, and welcome to the Voiceover Coffee Shop, where we start our day with some of the finest names in voiceover. If you'd like to get to know more about me, feel free to check out my website@AndrewDMorson.com in this episode, we have the fabulous Jen Greenfield. Jen is an absolutely relentless force when it comes to her marketing. She brings an unapologetic realness to both her voice style in multiple genres and her dedication to equipping her colleagues with the tools and resources they need to succeed. She's an absolute firecracker of a human being and one of the co founders of one of the fastest growing voiceover communities in the the industry, the Vobooth Besties. In this episode, we talk about being tenacious in an educated way, networking and client experiences, strategic marketing, and the origin story of Vobooth Besties.
- [01:16]
Jen Greenfield
And he's a good person. Okay. All right.
- [01:19]
Andrew Morrison
Hi. How are you?
- [01:21]
Jen Greenfield
I'm fantastic. It's so good to finally. I mean, you and I have had intermittent conversations when we run into each other. We had a fantastic phone conversation. But to get to enjoy each other here and do a little interview to boot is great.
- [01:36]
Andrew Morrison
Thanks for coming on. So how do you take your coffee in the morning? How do you start your day?
- [01:43]
Jen Greenfield
Six months ago, Jen would tell you tea, tablespoon of sugar and a splash of half and half. However, I have converted to black tea only. Okay.
- [01:59]
Andrew Morrison
Was that like. Was that like a health thing or like.
- [02:02]
Jen Greenfield
No. You know, don't even try to get into my brain and figure out how I operate or why I do.
- [02:09]
Andrew Morrison
Oh, I will. I wouldn't dare.
- [02:11]
Jen Greenfield
Yeah, yeah, it would be. Yes, it would be chaos there. Yes. There would be drinking. There'd be Tylenol. You'd be like, I don't know what's happening. Straight jackets, probably tranquilizers. But no, honestly, I will tell you, I spent some time with one of my agents this summer, Suzanne Spaziani with Aspbox, and she was doing no sugar. And I am not a no sugar person. But, like, when I thought about it, like, if I'm having a couple cups of coffee and I'm like. And I'm giving myself a solid spoonful of sugar, and I just kind of started going, I wonder if there's Some places I can cut back on sugar, so it's a little bit for health reasons, but I just was like, where am I getting sugar from? And that was one of them. And I was like, let's just try coffee. I mean, try black tea. And my husband was like, sure, let's go for it. You know, so we do now. I still drink coffee now and then, but it's sort of my treat. Right. Instead of the staple in the morning. And it's worked beautifully.
- [03:09]
Andrew Morrison
Is there like a specific kind of black tea that you drink or just like black tea?
- [03:13]
Jen Greenfield
That's a good question. I will usually. No, like brand wise. No, it's a chai.
- [03:20]
Andrew Morrison
Well, I've been through like a lot of loose leaf shops and so I know there are variations of black tea. And so I didn't know if you were okay.
- [03:26]
Jen Greenfield
Yes, I'm not that invested. When we lived in Europe. Yes. I even had the little. Do you have the little clipper thing with the net? I had the whole. The whole thing because. Yes. It was loose leaf everywhere. It was fantastic. No, when I'm getting up at 6, have to, you know, get ready, get the kids ready. It's a drop the bag in the thing and go situation. So. But I try to get something, I don't know, like organic and, you know, not going to kill me, but it's. I like kind of the. The cinnamon, you know, the spicy. The chai, you know, too. It's fun, keeps it interesting. It makes you want to drink it. So. Yeah.
- [04:04]
Andrew Morrison
And how did you get started in vo? Because I know you have like a, like a theater and acting background. We've talked about that. But I also know you were like a project manager for a company for a very, very long time. And so, like, how did, how did this happen?
- [04:16]
Jen Greenfield
I know I have done just about one of everything. I always joke, like, if you looked at. If there were any question as to whether I had ADHD in my lifetime, look at my resume and you'd be like, oh, my gosh. Like, right. I was a volunteer firefighter at one point. I worked at the Home Depot. Yes. I was the project manager for residential home renovations for many years. Singer, dancer, fitness instructor. Like, just.
- [04:44]
Andrew Morrison
But you grabbed this and you just clung on to it like vo. Like, the minute you started doing vo, it's just like.
- [04:53]
Jen Greenfield
Yeah. And that's how I operate. But it's been really interesting. You can appreciate this, that timing is everything. I won't say my timing was great for getting into vo. And a lot of people I know are like you're one of those people. Because I came in right at the Pandemic. So I mean I'm in less than five years but have done national campaigns, I'm working on some really exciting projects. I speak at voiceover conferences, I offer workshops. I've got of course got the podcast with the Betsy, the Betsies, the besties. But I am a jump in feet first person. However, not without doing my homework. So getting into V.O. yeah, I was a musical theater major my whole life. I was cast in my first opera at seven. I had a full ride scholarship to college for musical theater, taught dance, owned my own dance studio for a time and then got married. That changes everything. And started and I was, had done a little bit of on camera work but I was primarily singer. The singer, dancer, choreographer, that was my life. And so once I got married, now I'm moving every two years. Right. And one of the things that happens for spouses in the military is we don't, we really don't have the option to get jobs because the people at the base you're at or certainly if we're overseas, they know you're going to PCs or move in a year or two years and if you have children and the your spouse is deployed, they know you can't come into work by the time they train you, you're going to leave anyway. So me being me with my entre entrepreneurial spirit, I, every time we'd move I just start a business or you know, I'd kind of do a, see a need, fill a need where we were. So I've actually owned three businesses sold, sold two of them successfully. One I just let go. So I've always had that marketing sales business side to it. So fast forward, we are in San Antonio, Texas, the kids are in elementary school full time of course and, and then the pandemic hits and so I, I had done some work up, we were in Connecticut before moving to San Antonio and of course that's a great place for cabaret and theater stuff. Well, San Antonio did not have that. I was in a local band and that mostly sang rock music but I can't tell you why. I wish I could but it was one of those things where I don't know, was I, was I listening to commercials? Was I scrolling on the Internet? I can't tell you but I'm like voice acting. That's, this is clearly what this is. This is anime. My kids are completely invested in animation. I was finally getting into social media and kind of just started Be bopping around. And so again, I do my research. And I reached out to actually some people I knew. Here's a funny, Here's a little fun fact. Carrie Olsen, very successful voice actor and coach. Her husband went to high school. They played in bands together with my brother.
- [08:10]
Andrew Morrison
That's cool.
- [08:11]
Jen Greenfield
How weird is that? So I was like, hey. So I reached out to Derek and I was like, derek, I'm thinking about this thing called voiceover. And he's like, well, you need to talk to Carrie. So she and I had a little conversation early on. And so. And then my friend Jacob, he worked for a radio station for forever. So I'm doing my research. I'm like, what am I supposed to do? What's the. What equipment do I need? So I'm a pretty fast learner. So I'm jumping in. I got a dog, got a microphone. I'm learning. So I was already editing, knew how to edit, how to lay tracks, everything. And then my friend Jacob, he was like, jen, he's like, I do demos all the time, and not to the level that we're at here, you know, in 2024, but also free. So like, I'm like, I'll take you. But no, he did a phenomenal job. So he put together a fast and dirty demo for me and my. And I just jumped in. So the kids now were at home, but they were doing digital or, you know, online. And so I, although I had to be present, I didn't have to like stand over their shoulder. So I had a whole guest room that had a walk in closet. So I outfitted it, fitted it, and that was impressive, right? And I copy or trademark on that word. And then one of my, like, one of my first jobs I post on Facebook, I was like, I'm gonna be a voice actor if you guys need anything. One of my first and actually best jobs, because it's been recurring ever since, was from a friend I went to high school with. So like it was, it was to do the ivr for this high end, very high end international hotel chain called Rosewood Hotel Group. And in fact, just like not even two weeks ago, they're like, hey, Jen, we need, you know, they sent me more lines. We need to do the thing and we've just got this on. But it was one of those where like just jumped straight out the gate. Now I won't say it's all just been like uphill. Hi, welcome to being an entrepreneur. But what I had to my advantage is the very fast backstory I gave you is that by moving all the time, I got to know how to meet new people and like fast. And then, you know, if I start a business where I'm at, I know marketing, I know finances, I know email marketing. I am very comfortable like you, very comfortable cold calling. I don't care. Like, let's go. And of course, I wasn't super into social media at the time and so I was kind of doing it the hard way, which I don't mind. So I'm a boots on the ground kind of person and I think that grit, determination, passion, whatever you want to call it, is really what propels me to be able to direct market and get work the way that I do. So it was from there and then I. And it was from there, as we all do, I started going, okay, who do I need to talk to? How do I, how do I now level up? Like, that's been my thing every year is level up, get a new agent, get a different, you know, do a different coach, do a different demo, how do I grow my business? And so although an evolution, I've just, yeah, I'm a jump in feet first and make it happen. Kind of relentless some people. It's annoying. I don't care. I've got him. I know what, I know what I want. So.
- [11:42]
Andrew Morrison
And I want to touch on that social media thing. But like when you said you were doing a lot of research before you like initially jumped in, like, where were you looking for information? Like where. What kind of courses or training or Facebook groups or like, what just that's funny.
- [11:56]
Jen Greenfield
Or yeah, no, so actually not coaching because, hi, I'm an actress and I have been trained and I have done all the things. What does one need a coach for? Voiceover for? No, but we all, of course we know that is completely, you know, the wrong sort of thinking. However, no, what I wanted to know was, yeah, what kind of equipment or do I need, what kind of investment do I need to make what is the equipment look like? You know, at first, again, as you grow, you learn and you know more. I was like, I need to be able to do all the things I want, you know, I need to be able to record, edit, lay tracks, just fully master stuff. So I actually was really trying to get on the technical side when I, because I just, although I felt right or wrong that I had the performance side, you know, but again, we all kind of learn and what the different genres require. So of course I've grown from that. But I was mostly going, okay, how do I go about this? What am I doing? And so I did sign up. I'm pretty sure it was voices.com, but again, you Google, where do I get voiceover work? And they're the first thing that comes up, right?
- [13:17]
Andrew Morrison
Yeah, No, I found out about voiceover six years ago from a voices.com advertisement that said, get a job as a voice actor. I was like, I want to get a job demos. I don't know what that is. Experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [13:27]
Jen Greenfield
So. So. Yeah, so. So it. But so I. Yeah. So for me, it was, how do I build out my booth space? How do I, you know, how do I do the technical part? Because in my mind at the time, like, that really needed to be the focus, because I. I did. I mean, I. I had done some studio work, singing. So, I mean, I get it. You need to have a good space. I get it. You don't want to sound like you're sitting on the toilet, talking into your phone in your bathroom. Like, I already kind of knew. That's. That. That's an advantage that I think I had was that I just. I knew enough to be dangerous. Right. And so then I can just go. But then you start booking work, and then that feels good, right? And that. That starts kind of driving. Okay, well, if I did this, what else can I do here? You know? And so that's really what I was trying to learn about. And then, of course, yeah, just once you. Oh. And then I joined a Facebook group, and I can't. I feel like that was something maybe, you know, in the Google search that, you know, hey, join a Facebook group. And I joined a Facebook group, and that was also my opportunity to start going through, as we all do, go through the old posts, see what's applicable to me. What are the other commenters saying? Pros and cons of different things that you can learn so much. Facebook groups. So, yeah, that's what I did.
- [14:48]
Andrew Morrison
And so what did you start attacking first? I mean, I know you said you put a post on Facebook and then you got an ivr job and, like, just kind of put it onto the ether that, hey, I'm doing this. But, like, when you started direct marketing, what were you targeting first?
- [15:01]
Jen Greenfield
Products. Companies and products that I buy. Because for me, and I've encouraged this. I. I even talked about it. I've done. When I do workshops or if I do little videos, I'll tell people this. My husband and I, he, you know, steno pad, like your grandma, and we walk through the house and wrote down every single company that we. We shop with. I mean, I'm talking like this pen says profile. I don't know who it's by. It would be the pen, it would be the sono speaker, it would be craft cheese, string cheese. It would be the tent. We buy the ground cover the socks. I mean, literally. Because what better way. What easier way to start a conversation? Because that's people's biggest issue, right? With direct marketing, what to say, hi, I am one of your customers. I like. And then if they want to prove, yes, I see, I buy these pens. These are my favorite pension. Hey, I shop with you. And I am also a voice actor. And I would love to support, you know, what you did. And that's how it got started. And then, of course, LinkedIn, my happy, happy place, is so easy to start finding those contacts and connections who can support those efforts, who can hire you, who can direct you to the people who can hire you. The thing that I drive home with anybody when it. When we're. Whether we're talking about social media, direct marketing, like, how to begin and everything is to remember that people, like, they really are nice. Like, people really are nice, even if they're saying no. You know this because you love the nose. You have a game. I hope you'll share.
- [16:55]
Andrew Morrison
I do. I love my game. I love my game.
- [16:57]
Jen Greenfield
But people are nice. Like, I just have not found any. Anyone. Like, if I send them an email, either, they don't reply, okay, fine. But if they do, hey, not the right person, you might try this. Or, hey, we're really not looking for anything. You know, good luck. I mean, like, I have not met, interacted with anyone who has just been like, like, yeah, why are you calling me? And don't ever email me again. I've never experienced that. So I just find remembering they're just another human and they're nice and. And most people want to be helpful. I really believe that. I really do. And that's been very successful for me, is that I have had nothing but good luck with people sharing information and being kind.
- [17:44]
Andrew Morrison
And so how did you get started on social media? Because you said it was a hurdle initially. And right now, social media, maybe I'm just not making enough time for it, but that is my kryptonite. I'm great at cold outreach. But social media, other than like, this, this podcast is like my one content creation thing. So, like, how did. Did you, like, strategize it? Like, how did you.
- [18:04]
Jen Greenfield
That's a great question. So it social media for me. So I don't know if hurdle was the right word. Except that kind of. That it was that go. Yeah, go start. And so initially. So you talk a little bit about strategy and my, my knee jerk is to go, no, I didn't have a strategy. My initial kind of way I was working Facebook and Instagram and things like that was. It was pretty loose. It was sort of, you know, if I thought of something or maybe it was a fa. It was really kind of. Facebook is definitely more family oriented. And then Instagram was still a little bit song and dance and you know, a little bit. It's just a different platform. But when I was like, okay, I need to focus a little bit more, I need to take some steps forward, start jogging and then I need to start running, that's when I did get a little, I got more focused. So what does that mean? It means on Facebook I let people know I'm a voice actor and that's it. They don't need to know anymore that content is not applicable there. They got it. It's my family and my friends and some select voice actors so that strategically it doesn't make any sense for me to just keep posting. I'm a voice actor, so that is my opportunity to have conversations. It's my opportunity to post the funny thing, show the, you know, the naked picture of my kid. That's not true. Delete that. I'm kidding. But you know, like, it's a different, It's a different place. Instagram is my opportunity to shake things up. And I've actually gotten work from Instagram.
- [19:45]
Andrew Morrison
I use it as a search engine.
- [19:47]
Jen Greenfield
Oh, and that's great. That is a great idea too. So that's my place where it's like a little sprinkle of family. But it's more. I want you to get to know me. I want you to get to know Jen. Yes, a little sprinkle of family. Yes, a little. Here's some traveling stuff. Also my voice actor. Oh, did you know I could sing? Oh, I can make furniture. And you know, and so trying to give people a little peel back the onion. Right. And, and let, whether it's buyers, whether it's colleagues get to get to know me a little bit better. And so in that regard, yeah, I did get a little more strategic that I was staying focused on really letting people get to know me. I don't. And I've talked about this before that I'm happy to say I'm busy enough. It is very hard for me to be what I would call a full on content creator. Do I put out Content? Sure. Do I share other people's content? Yes. You know, will I periodically do a little duet like on Tick Tock or something? Yes. But I, I often ask people, I'm like, are you a content creator who does voiceover or are you a voice actor who, you know, sometimes does content? And for me, I am just happy to say I'm doing on camera, I'm doing voiceover, I'm got the besties, and I've got a lot of, A lot of fingers in different pies in a good way that I'm not. Although I have a presence. I'm not. My dear friend, Stefan Johnson, I mean, he does incredible content, but that's like an investment of time and.
- [21:24]
Andrew Morrison
Right.
- [21:24]
Jen Greenfield
I just don't have that right now. But when I am through Instagram and LinkedIn, I've gotten work and it's usually, yeah, they just, they're. They're seeing me because I'm talking about being a voice actor in some capacity. I got a modeling job because I used a hair product, a shampoo and conditioner, and I'm not real big on doing a lot of tagging and a lot of hashtagging because that can kind of backfire. But this was a smaller company at the time, and yeah, I was like, oh, I love this new shampoo bar or whatever. And they contacted me. Their social media, they were like, we want to pay you, will you? Anyway, they had me do some different modeling things for that. I was like, yes. So, yeah, so I kind of, you know, I got the ball rolling and. And I also just tried to be. I tell people, like, be funny. Like, people like it when you're funny funny. Like you could just. It's hard to say, oh, I'm funny, but I don't. I just try to be. I think I kind of am silly. And so, like, the one time I went viral on Instagram, I was doing a yoga challenge. One of my girlfriends, Julie, sent me. And you just never know the things that will blow up. But I have to remind people this, this video, I think it's got like 2.2 million views. It's been shared like over 150,000 times. All the great things. And you know what happened? Nothing. Not a damn thing. So remembering to have no expectation, when you go into, you know, using social media, maybe something will come of it, maybe it won't. But it's a touch point too, right? Maybe you don't have a website or even if you do, usually when people are looking for something, they're on social media. They're not like Googling, I need Jen Greenfield VOICE ACTOR they're scrolling. So remembering that you're having a presence makes you findable. Right. We hear that over and over.
- [23:26]
Andrew Morrison
Right.
- [23:27]
Jen Greenfield
And also that when they do find you that yeah, they get to see who you are. I mean one of the jobs I got, I've told this story before, was an on camera job and it was a big campaign for this walking this walkable neighborhood called Culdesac. And it was a fantastic shoot. And I asked the producer and director because it was. I had callbacks, like the whole nine yards. And I was like, what made you decide to go with me? Like what was the thing? And they were like, the, the producer was like, you are my first pick. But he said we went to your Instagram and they said we could tell you would be a lot of fun to work with and had really good energy. And so they didn't say, oh, we saw you in the booth with your head. We saw that you had a 416 microphone. They didn't say, oh, we saw it was. Had nothing to do with that. It was about getting to know me and getting a vibe from me. And that sealed my deal. Which pretty cool.
- [24:25]
Andrew Morrison
So in reversing that, when you are looking for somebody and you are researching their social medias, like how much research are you putting into a prospect and like what are you generally looking for? For.
- [24:37]
Jen Greenfield
That's a great question to be so like on LinkedIn.
- [24:41]
Andrew Morrison
Yeah.
- [24:41]
Jen Greenfield
To be honest, I'm giving away a secret here.
- [24:44]
Andrew Morrison
Oh yeah.
- [24:45]
Jen Greenfield
I'm looking. When I'm like looking to connect with someone who, someone who was hiring me, I don't want to have any mutual connections to that person. What does that mean? That means they've already been hit over the head by every mutual connection. To say I'm a voice actor, please hire me and I'm just one more.
- [25:10]
Andrew Morrison
So to me, to me that means that I found the right person and.
- [25:17]
Jen Greenfield
Maybe so, but I want to be the one. Here's my. This is my new philosophy too for 2024. I'm giving away something else beautiful just for you and your listeners, Andrew.
- [25:28]
Andrew Morrison
Awesome.
- [25:29]
Jen Greenfield
We are now in a position as voice actors, like using that very example for me to show up after 18 other people have already connected with this person.
- [25:42]
Andrew Morrison
Right.
- [25:43]
Jen Greenfield
I'm behind. Not behind behind, but I'm behind. And my goal in 2024 and it's paying off. I will tell you that right now. You got to get ahead of the thing. You gotta find out who the. What the thing is, before it's being produced, you need to find out who's the new cat, who's the new casting director, who's the new creative, who's the person that. It's like, that's. The only way I can describe it is you got to get ahead of the thing, because if it's already happening, you're behind. You're behind. Like, I want to be the voice that they didn't even know they needed because they hadn't even started yet. And so I'm, like, swooping in. And so that's, like, my philosophy. So, like, on LinkedIn, yeah, I'm looking for certain job titles. I'm, you know, are they active? Do they post? Do they repost, do they comment? Because there's a lot of people that don't. They just have a page. Because they're supposed to have a page. And again, working with people that align with my values, looking at companies that I shop with. Yeah. And so I'll. And so, yeah, so I'll look for. I'll get. I'll go that far. But, like, I'm not actively going, oh, then going over to their Instagram.
- [26:59]
Andrew Morrison
Well, I mean, as far as, like, a connection piece, like, what are you looking for to, like, build that connection? Are you looking for something you specifically use? Are you looking for something you guys have in common? Like. Like, how are you.
- [27:10]
Jen Greenfield
I. They. The way I look at it, especially on LinkedIn, is we all have a job to do. That's it. And so let's say I want to get into. I want to. I really want to work for Kraft String Cheese. Things are calm. Yeah, whatever. I would go to. First of all, I go as high as I can go where. Who's the CEO? Let's be friends with them. I want to be friends with them. I don't get in the weeds with the messaging and things like that anymore. I am just connecting, and that is working. Fabulous. Yeah. I'm not. We're not adding the note because you know what? They're gonna see my headline. They're going to see what I'm about. They're, you know, my job title. They're going. They may go check out my profile. They got it. That's the other thing. Like, we just think people are. I think sometimes we think they're dumb. And these people are pros. They know. They're like, oh, it's a voice actor. Or maybe they're like, oh, cool, it's a voice actor. But they know. They know why you're coming and like to, to think that you're going to say the thing or be the thing, that suddenly they're like, oh, I don't feel sold to it. Oh, you're just connecting with me because, you know, we both have kava poo dogs. No, they know. They know it's business. So I approach things from a business standpoint and that's why. And, and so, so when I. Yeah, when I connect with them, it's because I know they're the right person. Connect to. I'm not doing a lot of fluff and connecting with all these people. Like, I'm like, let's go to the CEO. I go to chief marketing officers, creative director, producer, digital media. Like, boom, boom, boom. Let's find the right people and not waste anyone's time, you know, that we don't. I don't. Although, yeah, I want to have the conversation and that comes later. But as far as just like the initial connection, that's what I'm doing. I find them, I find the company, I find who would do the hiring and I send them, I send them a connection request and then after that, no, I don't do a lot of. What. What college did you go to? And I went to that college too. And again, you.
- [29:21]
Andrew Morrison
Yeah, that ends up like a chain of messages that, oh, by the way, we're not. We don't need anything. Yeah.
- [29:26]
Jen Greenfield
And we don't need anything.
- [29:27]
Andrew Morrison
That's a time suck. Yeah, no, I did that when in my first year. The people that I was looking for were elearning designers because I wanted to do elearning because I knew it was sustainable. And so I started contacting as many elearning designers and I was just having these in depth conversations on like, what kind of elearning do you do? Oh, I went to that college too. Blah, blah, blah. And by the end of it, they were like, oh, no, I'm just a freelance person that works for this third company and I have a $10 budget because I'm trying to get my own business off the ground.
- [29:53]
Jen Greenfield
You couldn't have said it better that. Right, exactly. So, so, so cutting away the fat again. I don't want to waste your time. You don't want to waste. You know, like, let's. This is what I do. You know that, hey, I'm a voice actor. You know, Astoria redhead, if you follow her over on Tick Tock. I'm Mandy. She does a wonderful job of. She just is very direct as well, you know. Hey, I saw that you just did the. I just Saw this, this new commercial. It looked awesome. If you need a voice in the future, you know, like, let me like just, we're just cutting to the chase because again, it's business. People know, people know why you're coming and for you to give a lot of fluff, it's just a waste of time.
- [30:35]
Andrew Morrison
And she does something similar that you do where she will actually like build an actual spot and then send it to and be like, here's what I sound like on your stuff for the, for the future. Like, here's what I sound like working for your, for your company.
- [30:46]
Jen Greenfield
Yeah, I, I have found, you know, I did, I have done that. It does take some work and you need to be mindful. But the other thing is, you know, like when I did this Penzoil, I voiced over a Penzoil spot because again, you need to make it also like applicable. So like just to go, oh look, I can do a string cheese spot that. No, what's the value add? So my, like when I did this Pennzoil voiceover spot and it got phenomenal traction and I connected with a lot of producers in shell and whatever from it, but it's because they had an entire commercial dedicated to a woman who owned her own ride share business, she took care of her own car and it was like, woman, woman, woman. And then it was like, yeah, then. And it's a guy voiced over the whole thing. And I was like, what a missed opportunity. So I'm, my applicability was to go, hey, you literally featured a woman. And it would have been amazing if you, you know, let me show you what a woman, you know, including a woman's voice. Because now you're reaching the 51%. You know, having a guy, you just, you know, we're in a time now. I don't need to be mansplained about how to take care of my car, you know, so making it where it makes sense that you're pitching it. Same thing when I made my big push with Home Depot because again, they always feature men with power tools and women picking out plants. But I was like, hey, guess what women do, you know, build and use power tools and you know, let me show you kind of what that looks like. So anyway, that's if, if you are going to pursue that, make it make sense that you're doing it, don't just pitch them your voice. You know what I mean? Like if you're going to go to the trouble of that. But it's a great idea. It's a great idea.
- [32:48]
Andrew Morrison
And with all of these different methods, like, whenever you're seeing like a little bit of a lull in your business, because we all have them, like, what. What do you generally immediately focus on?
- [32:59]
Jen Greenfield
That's a great question. I, I will jump in to do some coaching sessions just to kind of keep myself fresh. But also I lean into the direct marketing, you know, even more. More than I would because again, as we all know, I, you know, you can't count fully on agents, right? That's, you know, maybe you're getting one a day, two a day from your agents auditions. But yeah, it's during those times that I just find that I just lean in more to my direct marketing. You know, that's the other thing. Just, you know, not you, but people listening. When is the last time you checked your website? Like, I know I got, I've had three voiceover nominations. And then I went and looked at my copy, like, about me, and it said two time nominated.
- [33:47]
Andrew Morrison
No, that's something I'm guilty of. Like, and I was like, I focus so much on outreach that I'm like, wait, where am I sending them to?
- [33:54]
Jen Greenfield
Yes. Oh, that's even. Exactly. So, yeah, so you're doing all this work. But. So, yeah. Have you double checked? Because I've done this even with very established voice actors. You know, I'll check their LinkedIn and it'll be like, there's no banner, there's, you know, no email contact. I'll go to their socials. And it also won't have, you know, current stuff website. So that's your other opportunity when, you know, just kind of, the industry as a whole is kind of is. Hey, let me. Is this a current headshot? Hey, do I have again, all my copy up to date? Oh, I'm missing a demo. How did I forget to put that on my website? But I put it over here, you know, so that's another place that you can, you know, use your time advantageously or just take a nap. Because you know what? There's nothing wrong with just taking a nap. So there you go.
- [34:57]
Andrew Morrison
So speaking of your shirt, I know of Naked Jen, but I don't know the origin of Naked Jen. Like, how did that brand, like, personal brand start?
- [35:07]
Jen Greenfield
It's not even, it's not even a good story. It's not even.
- [35:11]
Andrew Morrison
It's still a story. I need to know.
- [35:14]
Jen Greenfield
I was doing an advanced animation course with Lori Allen. Many of you may know her from spongebob and other things, but. And Susan Palio with Voice Track, Voice Tracks west. And right Outside my door, I've got a hot tub over here, and I've got a swimming pool over here. And it was. It's an evening class, like, three hours, four hours, whatever. And I was like, oh, I'll just go pop in the pool before this whole thing starts. When I came back in mindlessly, I just grabbed, like, a sundress, just because, you know when you're. When you're wet, you don't want to put on pants, right? Because they stick. So I just grabbed a sundress, like a pull over your swimsuit, and I just put it on, and I just sat down just like this. And as soon as the zoom starts, without even missing a beat, because that's how good Lori is too. She goes, okay, so naked Jen's gonna read first. And I. And for a moment, I was like, what? And then I looked at. And all you saw was. Was just from here up, because I'd just pulled this sundress just up over the tatas. And so I look completely naked. And so the whole class just was like, oh, my gosh. And then it was done. And then when she would text me, it would be like, you know, hashtag not naked right now. Hashtag not naked, Laurie Hasht. You know, so it just became a thing after that.
- [36:37]
Andrew Morrison
But that's cool.
- [36:38]
Jen Greenfield
It's. You know. But one of the funny things about it, I did an interview with Paul Schmidt, and I told him, I said, you know, naked Jen, like, isn't my brand. Like, it's an accident. It was just a for fun thing.
- [36:47]
Andrew Morrison
It's a conference branding.
- [36:49]
Jen Greenfield
To me, it's a cut. Oh, that's good. It's a con.
- [36:51]
Andrew Morrison
But you. But you. And I started going to conferences at the same time. So, like, that always, like, stuck in my brain, right with you.
- [36:57]
Jen Greenfield
So. And. And that's it. So people be like, you're Naked Jen. And I'm like, yes, you're allowed to say it. It's fine. Yeah, that's so funny. But then Alicia Bake, of course, who we care for deeply. You know, she said she sent me the most amazing video, and I still kind of get choked up thinking about it. But she said, you know, we joke that, you know, naked Jen is your nickname, and you say it's not really your branding, but she said, it really is. Because if you know me for five minutes, I. I bear my soul, like, I will share. I hold nothing back. I mean, I am. I do have empathy and sympathy. I'm not ugly, but I also am honest. And. Yeah. And you Just what you see is what you get. And so she goes, it really is actually part of your branding. And I was like, like that. So I hang on to that, too, so it's funny. But I also show you all of me. I don't. I don't hold back, so that's awesome.
- [37:58]
Andrew Morrison
Speaking of Alicia, how did the VO booth besties come to, like, what's the origin story? Because you guys have built an amazing community, and you really have, and really, really fast.
- [38:10]
Jen Greenfield
So funny. The three of us. Okay, so JT and I, Gentafoni and I had interacted a little bit on LinkedIn. I can't even tell you why or what the. What it would even be about, but we kind of just knew who each other were through LinkedIn. Alicia Bake, no idea who she was. So two, so three one voices ago. I think that's right, because we just had the last one. So I think it was three one voices ago.
- [38:40]
Andrew Morrison
So 20, 21.
- [38:42]
Jen Greenfield
Is that right? I think that's.
- [38:44]
Andrew Morrison
That was the. That was the first one Gravy had in the U.S. that was the first U.S. one voice, I think.
- [38:51]
Jen Greenfield
Then that's the one. I went, yeah, then that's it. Yeah, then that's it. So. So we show up, and at this point, I'm, like, super active, super involved in Facebook groups. Like, I really got a good community already built. I mean, Diana Birdsall, Michelle Blanker, like, all. Liz Atherton, you know, of course, with cast Voices. So all. You know, so I had a. I had lots of good contacts that I was going to see when I showed up to this conference, and Jen Henry was one of them. Well, so there we are, night one. We're all sitting in the. That bar area, and Alicia, I'm trying to remember, she. She roomed with Jen Henry. I think maybe she'd done a coaching session with her. I'm not really sure how their relationship started, but she was rooming with her, and Jen Henry wanted her hair done. And she's like, can any of you do it? I'm like, I can. And then Alicia's like, I can, too. And whatever. We just were like, we can both do hair. And like this. I don't even know. We hit it off. She. She is a. She is. She is like me in that she has no trouble talking to anyone and. And, you know, holding court when she needs to. But for some reason, she'll always say, she goes, yeah, I was, like, holding up a wall, just looking at my phone for some reason. And she'll say, I was the one that rescued her and like got her back out and, you know, out into the fold. But we, we did, we eventually found jt, but just, we just kind of did the conference. Well, the last day, it was Sunday. Closing ceremonies were over and we're up in that area where the dining area. And somehow, some way, we had just collected this wonderful group of beginner voice actors all around us. And we're, we're unique in that. JT has been in this over 10 years. Alicia's just under 10 years and then I'm just under five. So we've, we've collectively kind of got three different perspectives and, you know, coming into it at different times and different things like that. So first I'm just telling. We had like 20 people around us. They were just asking questions and, and we were like, so what, what worked for you? What didn't at this. And you know, for, for most new voice actors going to a conference, it is like a fire hose of information, right? Like, it is, it can be so overwhelming. And you're trying to attend every single class and you're trying to meet every single coach, casting director, agent that you can. And, and they told us, they said, we feel like every time we go to a class session, the speaker gives you a third of the information or a sprinkle of information or it's so high level. But if you buy their course afterwards or if you buy the program and the thing and the thing then. And we were like, yeah, you're right that we've already paid to be here. They're getting paid to be like, why are we not walking away with real time information like about the industry? What do you casting agent want or casting director want? What do you agent want? Just tell us. And boom, we all, we got on like a zoom call and we said, let's set up something. We didn't know what it was going to be called or, you know, anything, but we said, let's be the place where we talk to people and we get the answers. Where working voice actors get answers to the questions from industry pros who know. Like that was the tagline. And the beautiful part was all those. They all wanted to come on our show. They all wanted to go, yeah, we'll give you the information. Because the way they viewed it is, you're making my job easier. Let's quit. You're quit wasting everybody's time when I, you know, you'll have one casting director who says, follow the specs. Follow the specs, Follow the specs. Do not improvise Right. So now you know, but maybe you didn't know. And so now we're telling you agents saying, Send me an MP3. Don't send me to your website. Don't tell me you're unique. Don't tell me I don't have anybody like you on my roster. Yes, I do. You know, and, like, learning these things. And so getting just down to brass tacks again, this is very Jen Greenfield, where I'm like, just let's be honest and direct and cut to the point. So. And then in doing so, we were like, okay, well, we'll set up a website. Just kind of a touch point. We started on Clubhouse, which, have you recall, that was really popular at the time, and it just blew up. And. And it really. We took the lead from the community. Our community was like, hey, can we have a Facebook group? Okay, so we started a Facebook group. Hey, can we now make this not just Clubhouse and a podcast? Can you now make these live videos? And, you know, where you're just like, what we're doing now? And then people would message us and say, hey, I really want to hear from this person. Or I. You know, and so we were getting. Not only were we using our own connections for people to come talk, we. Again, the community is telling us what they wanted. And when you have community input like that, when you're giving people literally, again, see a need, fill a need. When it's what they want, they will come. Field of dreams, they will come. And so it's. It has really taken on a mind of its own. And one of the, you know, key things about it that stands out for people is we don't charge for anything. I mean, we're not. There's no gatekeeping. There's no paywall. We're not charging for this information. But as you know, even when you put it out there, people still don't use it. They still don't listen. You know, they stand. Because there is. There's so much information. It's not just the besties. There's. I mean, so many Facebook groups and podcasts now all about the how to and. And everything. But we. We love it. We love it. We love being a source of joy for people, of inspiration and of education where people can learn. So.
- [45:09]
Andrew Morrison
And in that same vein, with you seeing a need and a lack of information and wanting to provide that, is that when you started to pitch to speak at conferences and stuff?
- [45:19]
Jen Greenfield
Yes. So when I. Let me think.
- [45:26]
Andrew Morrison
Because I. I've been to your. No, I've watched the Replay of your networking one. Yeah, I have seen that one.
- [45:33]
Jen Greenfield
So there was networking. I spoke at wovo. I actually did two different sessions at wovo, and very. They were very met with fantastic feedback, which was great. But yeah, so. And then, and then I would have, like, my dear friend John Ciano over at Live O Takeover. He's like, hey, would you teach, like a workshop? Yeah. So then I started teaching a few workshops. Then Paul Schmidt was like, hey, will you come teach a workshop for me? Got it. All of a sudden. And then, and then I get asked, like, Paulette Lifton, who is also a wonderful person. She's like, hey, can we get you to come on and talk about. So you just start again. If you're a value add, if you're actually providing information, you know that it's applicable to people, and they go, okay, yeah, I can use this. We're, you know, word of mouth has a way of, you know, bringing that to light. And so, yeah, I've been asked to speak at different things and offer workshops. And it's been great. It's been great.
- [46:35]
Andrew Morrison
And most of what you hone in.
- [46:36]
Jen Greenfield
On is networking, Networking, social media, really the business side, I really don't speak to performance, and I'm okay with that. But even beyond that, I think real. Not think I know what my. The, the, the umbrella is. Be you, be bold, take risks. That's it. That applies to networking, that applies to social media. That implies that has to do with. Yeah, direct marketing. Putting yourself out there, making the connections, doing the thing is you have to be, you own, you know, who you are. Be, you know, be authentic. And then be bold. Like, do the work, figure it out, who do I need to talk to? And then take the risk. And that is the thing that I drive home with everything and, and, and remember at the end of the day that the person on the other end of the phone, on the other end the email, who's in the other room, who's sitting at that table, they are just a person. That's it. And it makes it. To me, it makes it so much easier to talk to someone. When you go, you're a dad, I'm a parent, there you go. You can be CEO of the company. Great. But I'm the CEO of my company.
- [47:52]
Andrew Morrison
Yeah.
- [47:53]
Jen Greenfield
I mean, I don't. Again, I don't see the difference. So, you know, taking the risk. I love, you know that expression. Oh, I put it in my article. I forget who actually said it. It wasn't, it wasn't Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was actually somebody else. But to do the thing, even if your handshakes, you know, like, just. Because then it gets easier. Same thing with, you know, networking, marketing, doing the emails, doing the cold calls. Tell people about what you do on your cold calling. Because I love it.
- [48:25]
Andrew Morrison
Oh, the thing I do in my. The game.
- [48:27]
Jen Greenfield
Yes. Your nose.
- [48:28]
Andrew Morrison
Yes. So I. Because the worst thing that you can get out of a cold call is a bunch of people saying no. So I started turning it into a game where my goal is always to get 20 consecutive no's in a row. And so if somebody says yes, then I have to start all over. I love mindset shifts. Like, even. Even direct marketing in and of itself, like, it's thought of as a monotonous task. And when I was first. When I started my first business, it was a monotonous task because that's how I thought of it. But once I switched that into it being a scavenger hunt for my next opportunity, then that's when it started to become fun.
- [49:05]
Jen Greenfield
And that's it. That's it. Because people so often just get hung up. There's a fear factor there. There's. They put up this wall and they're just like, I just. I don't know. I don't. I can't. And you're right. I love how you said just having that mindset shift where you go. Because again, isn't it funny? Isn't it funny that you will cold call the auto dealership, Right. Without, even without hesitation, hey, I need to get an oil change. You know, when are you available? How much does it cost or whatever? And you don't even, like, no hesitation at all. But yet to call somebody else who you want to work with, hey, what do you know? Same idea. Like, you know, what are you guys working on? Do you need anything? And you know, budget, whatever. Just. You're still talking in the same terms. And yet for some reason, that mental shift, we. We lock up when we're talking to this person.
- [50:00]
Andrew Morrison
When we're a seller and not a buyer. Yeah.
- [50:02]
Jen Greenfield
But we're freer when we talk to somebody else, you know, so. But I love your idea. I love your game.
- [50:08]
Andrew Morrison
Well, I mean, I love mindset shifts because, I mean, even like when I'm having a bad day, 10% of my worst days are going to be every 10 days. But that also means that 10% of my best days are going to be every 10days. So if I'm having a bad day, I just know that, okay, well, today is my 10% day. So tomorrow is not going to be.
- [50:27]
Jen Greenfield
And then I also have my joy Jar.
- [50:29]
Andrew Morrison
Oh, that's cool.
- [50:31]
Jen Greenfield
Yeah. And so. And the thing that I like about it, too, is I have to. I make myself handwrite it because they're just that thing right. About when you write something down, it kind of. It ingrains a little bit more.
- [50:41]
Andrew Morrison
Yeah.
- [50:42]
Jen Greenfield
And I can't wait. I can't wait until the end of the year or the new year. I haven't decided what I'm gonna, You know, and then just what you're saying to go back and go, man, that was awesome. Like, that. That was a great day. That was a great. You know, here's 10 things that happened during. You know, so I've been trying to. Trying to do that to do the Joy Jar.
- [51:02]
Andrew Morrison
So is that what you do? Like, what do you put on your note? Like, what kind of things do you classify for the Joy Jar? Because you can't say, oh, you know, my coffee was good today. Like, you can't.
- [51:12]
Jen Greenfield
It could be.
- [51:13]
Andrew Morrison
I mean, it could be, but, like, you know, like what?
- [51:16]
Jen Greenfield
Just get a peek. Let me keep going. Here it is. I'll share this. I put. Let's see. My animation demo was nominated for a voiceover award.
- [51:28]
Andrew Morrison
That's cool.
- [51:30]
Jen Greenfield
And you know what? It goes in the Joy Jar. I'll put. If I made a great connection, if I booked a job or just felt like I crushed an audition, it's like, we went out to LA this summer with the kids, and my friend Scott McCarthy, who's one of the VPs at DreamWorks, he got us a VIP tour. And. Yeah. And so I'm. That's going in the Joy jar. Our family got a VIP tour of DreamWorks, and my son Avery got to do. Got to go on the sound soundstage. And I told him. I'm like, literally, this is where Jack Black and anyone who has voiced for DreamWorks, I mean, this is where they stand. And he got to do voice clip for Kung Fu Panda, and they dropped it in to the animation. So we got to walk around and see it. I mean, it was 10 seconds. I don't care. And so those kinds of things. Callbacks. I have gotten some really good on camera callbacks, and I just. They bring me joy. Like, I know a callback is a good thing. Right. You know, even when you land the job, necessarily call back is. Is feedback, and it means you're doing something right. So all different things.
- [52:46]
Andrew Morrison
That's really, really cool. I love how physical it is. That's awesome.
- [52:50]
Jen Greenfield
Yeah.
- [52:51]
Andrew Morrison
So, I mean, with social media and booth besties and networking and marketing. Like, like 10 gents. Like, like what? I know no two days are the same, but like, how do you balance all of that, like in a, in a day to day basis?
- [53:05]
Jen Greenfield
That's a great question. My. My husband is convinced I have a nuclear generator installed somewhere inside of me. Yeah, we haven't identified. It's probably in my right butt cheek, but all that to say the answer is I. Okay, so. So I take Avery to school every morning. Eleanor takes the bus. I come home, it's breakfast tea, check email, check LinkedIn. And then usually I'm in the booth by that point. Or I might be doing on camera auditions because sometimes auditions seem to come in in the afternoons as well lately. Yeah. And so, yeah, and I'm also working on an audiobook right now. And so I need to finish that up. And so I'll give myself chunks of time. But yeah, so then I basically have until like about almost two. Then I go back and get Avery and then I am very blessed that I have a very involved husband. And he, you know, so he actually, as soon as the kids get home from school, he'll take them to cross country, he takes Eleanor to piano, and then I have the house to myself and can just knock out whatever else I need to. But I do intermittent. I will admit I do. I am on my phone a lot, but dinner time, no phones when I'm sitting, you know, once the kids are in bed and my husband, I might watch a show together. No phones, you know, so I do give myself, you know, timeouts. But yeah, but it's also just my way to. Because I have. I get inundated with DMS talent. Who needs some mentoring. I do. One of the things I also provide for some of my fellow on camera actors is I'm a reader and I love doing that. So when they have an on camera audition and they need someone to do the. Basically the other lines to talk to them so they're not just speaking into the void. So, yeah, so I'll do reading and I also provide some direction as well. I really love directing. But anyway, so yeah, it's. No two days are the same, but I would say collectively they kind of function the same in that I do mark out time in the morning, like, eat, have coffee, because, you know, if you're not, if you're not fueling yourself, if you're not taking care of yourself.
- [55:25]
Andrew Morrison
Right.
- [55:25]
Jen Greenfield
Certainly at the start of the day, it's not gonna go. It's just, you know, Gonna go downhill. The. I check in with my besties. I have some other colleagues who are just amazing touch points for me. If I'm just. Because some days, like you said, you know, I want to go under a rain cloud, and I'm like, I just want a. For a little bit. I just. Can I just. Because I just want a bit for 30 minutes, pull me out of it. Or maybe one of my colleagues will call and go, I need to just get under the rain cloud for a minute. And we all get under and we get wet, and then, you know, then it's my job that time to pull them out. So I make time for friendships. I take. I make time for conversations. But I just. I'm just a hard worker. Like, I just hustle, and so I just make it work. Yeah.
- [56:15]
Andrew Morrison
And usually my last question is, if you could write a letter to yourself from before you started in vo, what would that be? And generally, I do that to avoid asking, what would you tell future vos? So that way, like, it comes across more organically. But you posted something. Well, you shared something today that really resonated with me. And so I'm gonna switch this.
- [56:39]
Jen Greenfield
Good.
- [56:39]
Andrew Morrison
What disciplinary action are you putting in place toward the commitment to your future self?
- [56:46]
Jen Greenfield
Wasn't that video so good?
- [56:48]
Andrew Morrison
That was amazing, wasn't it?
- [56:51]
Jen Greenfield
So good.
- [56:52]
Andrew Morrison
Yes.
- [56:53]
Jen Greenfield
For those who don't know, this guy said his definition for discipline is actually self care. Because you using discipline, you are putting off the not. You are saying, I don't want to just do the thing right now, the easy thing, and instead you're doing the hard thing so that tomorrow is easier. And I just. I agree.
- [57:13]
Andrew Morrison
And keeping promises to yourself. Yes, absolutely.
- [57:16]
Jen Greenfield
Keeping promises to yourself. Yeah, I forgot that part. Yeah. It just. Yeah. Wonderful. Total mind shift. So. So the question is, tell me again.
- [57:26]
Andrew Morrison
When you look to your VO future, what disciplinary actions are you putting in place right now so you can keep those commitments to your future self?
- [57:34]
Jen Greenfield
I love it. Okay. One is because I have a very specific objective right now is to make sure I am properly trained to do the object to reach this objective. So I want to stay, make sure I'm coaching, make sure I'm right for this genre, for what I'm working for. Stay healthy. Right. Certainly after conferences, we get the conference crud. And, you know, because right now I am like, I've got the pedal pushed to the floor. That's. That's where I'm at right now. So those disciplinary things to keep myself on that trajectory. Yeah. Coaching, keeping my voice healthy, not staying up super, super late. I am a night owl, admittedly. And so I do have to be. Really force myself to go to bed early, not to lose myself in all this, in the conferences and the besties, because we can overdo it. I. I do. I am. I am a fixer. I am a helper. I want to just. If you've got qu. Just come to me. But you know what? I have to set some boundaries to take.
- [58:55]
Andrew Morrison
Let. Can't let somebody borrow bricks until you b. Build your own house.
- [58:58]
Jen Greenfield
Oh, that's so good. I hadn't heard that. That's so good. So it's really. That's really where I'm at, disciplinary wise is just. Just make sure I'm on track, keep myself healthy, and give when I can or when I want to and not. And I do. And I do. I struggle with it. I want to help everybody. I do all the time.
- [59:21]
Andrew Morrison
The mama burden you.
- [59:22]
Jen Greenfield
I know it is. Oh, 100%. 100%. Come in, little chicks. I got you.
- [59:27]
Andrew Morrison
I got you.
- [59:29]
Jen Greenfield
So that's. I would say those are the three things. Those are three things. So that's a great question.
- [59:35]
Andrew Morrison
And where can people find you and your demos and all of your amazing stuff?
- [59:40]
Jen Greenfield
Everywhere.
- [59:41]
Andrew Morrison
So everywhere. It really is.
- [59:42]
Jen Greenfield
Thank you for asking.
- [59:43]
Andrew Morrison
Every time I turn around, there's a Jen Greenfield. Oh, you froze. Oh, no. Best hold on.
- [59:58]
Jen Greenfield
Oh, you're frozen too.
- [60:00]
Andrew Morrison
Okay, okay, now we're. Now we're good. Now I can see it. Okay, cool. Right where I asked where to find.
- [60:06]
Jen Greenfield
You, but that was fun. So where to find me? So my website is Jen Greenfield. VO.com I am Mama Greenfield. That's funny that you would say Mama Bird. I am Mama Greenfield on all socials, Instagram, Tick tock and X Twitter, whatever. And. And then if I know you and I have met you, that I have some sort of working relationship with you, I might let you into Facebook. You're welcome to come over there, but I try to keep that. Yeah, I have a little bit of boundary there, but yeah, so. And of course, LinkedIn. Hello. Everybody can connect with me on LinkedIn. I love it over there.
- [60:46]
Andrew Morrison
Thank you for coming on. This was a blast.
- [60:48]
Jen Greenfield
Thanks for inviting me.
- [60:51]
Andrew Morrison
I really hope you enjoyed this phenomenal talk with Jen on her story, her evolution, and her predictions in the future of Voiced media. If you'd like to get to know more about her, you can visit jengreenfieldvo.com and if you'd like to listen to the VO Booth Besties podcast, you can check that out at boothbesties.com thanks for stopping by and I'll catch you in the next one. Thank you for listening to the Voiceover Coffee Shop. For more information on guests, new episodes.
- [61:19]
Jen Greenfield
And more, be sure to visit veocoffeeshop.com and our YouTube channel or your favorite podcast streaming platform. You know you want to.